


Of Mullets and Admirers

by pupeez4eva



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Humor, Kid!Aaron, M/M, Teen!Robert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 08:05:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14613573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pupeez4eva/pseuds/pupeez4eva
Summary: Wherein a young Aaron is enamoured with Robert's hair (something that, over a decade later, he comes to regret very much).





	Of Mullets and Admirers

_**(2004)** _

 

Aaron stared after Robert, his eyes wide.

 

Chas glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. “Finally looked up from that game, have we?” 

 

“Who is that?” he asked, ignoring his mum’s comment. 

 

“Huh?” Chas squinted in confusion — she’d had more than a few drinks that night, and it was clearly showing by now. “Robert Sugden?” she said at last, when she finally realised that Aaron was talking about the teen who’d just left.

 

Aaron nodded, his eyes wide with what could only be described as awe. “I want his hair.” 

 

Chas frowned. “Oh no, you don’t want that birds nest.”

 

“But I do. It looks _so_ cool! I wanna change mine.” Aaron spared another glance towards the teen, who seemed oblivious to the fact that both mother and son were now staring at him, and nodded his head in determination.

 

“Nope,” Chas said, shaking her head, and then blinking rapidly when the action made her dizzy. 

 

“It’s just hair.”

 

“It’s not just — ooh, hello!” Since a drunken Chas apparently found it hard to focus when a distraction came along (more specifically, male distractions) she took off yet again, leaving Aaron staring in her wake. Well, he wasn’t going to complain. His mum was embarrassing, and he had much more important things to think about. 

 

…

 

_**(2018)** _

 

“I don’t know why we need these,” Robert grumbled, as Aaron flicked through the photos, a grin stretched across his face. They'd been asking around for photos of the family to include in Liv’s photo album. Diane had kindly given them a pile of photos, although a number of them seemed to be from Robert’s childhood. He didn’t know why she’d think they’d need those, because they sure as hell weren’t including them if he had anything to say about it.

 

Aaron picked up another photo, his grin widening. Robert watched him, feeling his own lips curve upwards; well, if they made Aaron this happy, then he couldn’t complain too much.

 

“Oh my god, Robert, your _hair.”_

 

Robert glanced at the photo and bit back a groan. The mullet. Of course.

 

Chas, who’d stopped by to drop off the photos (Diane had asked her to bring them over) and ask how Liv was doing, glanced over and smirked.

 

“Mullets were in back then,” Robert said, shrugging self-consciously. “Besides, it’s not like your style was much better when you were a teenager.”

 

A young, shaved-headed, gold-chain-wearing, chavvy Aaron was a never ending source of amusement to him.

 

Aaron snorted. “Yeah, but I never had a mullet, did I?” 

 

“Bet your glad I stopped you, huh?” Chas said, grinning. 

 

Aaron stared at her, his brow furrowed in confusion. “You what?”

 

“‘I want his hair’ doesn’t sound familiar to you?” 

 

Aaron stared blankly at her. Robert leaned forward, grinning. This sounded like something he wanted to hear.

 

“At Andy and Katie’s wedding…?” Chas prompted.

 

Aaron shook his head. “Mum, what are you on about?” 

 

Chas’s grin widened. “Oh, let’s just say that you were quite the fan of Robert’s hair when you were a kid.”

 

“What?!” Aaron said, incredulous. “No I wasn’t!”

 

“Sweetheart, I was off my head and I still remember.”

 

Robert didn’t even try to hide his amusement. “Oh really?” 

 

Chas nodded. “Although I don’t know how you went from wanting all of that hair to shaving it all off…but I guess that’s just teenagers for you.” 

 

Robert turned to Aaron, whose head was ducked, his cheeks red. Robert leaned over and nudged him lightly on the shoulder. “Guess I was irresistible even back then, huh?” 

 

Aaron snorted. “Sure, if that’s what you want to believe.”

 

Still grinning, Robert draped an arm around Aaron’s shoulders pulling him close. Aaron rolled his eyes, but didn’t pull away, and Robert felt light and happy in a way that, just a few months ago, he thought he’d never feel again. “Bet what you really meant was ‘I want him’,” he joked, while Chas watched them in amusement.

 

“I was a kid,” Aaron pointed out.

 

“A kid who wanted to be just like me.”

 

Aaron rolled his eyes, his cheeks still flushed. Robert honestly found it adorable (although he didn’t think Aaron would appreciate it if he shared that little observation). 

 

“Do you _want_ to sleep on the sofa tonight?”

 

“Right, shutting up now.” 

 

Aaron glanced at him, then down at the photo that he was still holding. “Alright fine,” he said at last, “I _guess_ if anyone could've pulled it off, it’d be you.” 

 

Robert smiled. “Yeah?”

 

“Yeah.” Aaron glanced back at the photo and snorted. “Although you still looked ridiculous.” 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Just a really random idea I came up with xD Hopefully you enjoyed this!


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